1.) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power assisted drum pedal for the specific use of improved playing performance on the drum set.
2.) Description of the Related Art
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,038 to Kurosaki discloses a prior art manual foot drum pedal for the playing performance on the bass drum of a drum set. This design presents, however, a drawback requiring the manual use of a spring having weighty resistive action, applied against the player's effort to play the pedal. Addtionally, prior art patents are for drum pedals played manually and present the same drawback to player performance.
A foot pedal as used for the bass drum of a drum set. The fundamental purpose of the foot pedal is to improve manual stability, during a performance on the drums. Although bass drum pedals have been used for decades to play the drums, these pedals such as the one described in the Kurosaki prior art patent have been played manually. Manual operation has always been used with a spring to recoil the pedal to the start or up position after the pedal was played down to the stop or end position by the player. Therefore, the ability to play the pedal has always been controlled by the resistive spring action and the associated moving parts of the pedal.
a) Music stores commonly supply consumers with a range of low to high quality drum pedals using the basic design of the Kurosaki patent. Depending on the quality of the drum pedal, a low quality pedal produces stiff feel of action and a high quality pedal offers improved feel of action to the player's effort.
b) The prior art design of the bass drum pedal requires manual movement, applying the player's effort on the pedal. With varied levels of the player's effort varied sound levels and effects can be played on the bass drum. The quality and effect of the drum sound can only be produced from the player's effort.
c) Thus, if an excellent player wanted excellent sound on the bass drum, player effort is wasted to play the pedal down to the end position against the resistance of a recoiling mechanical spring. Additionally, wasted effort to play/push the spring down could otherwise be used to create excellent sound on the drum and is wasted in the mechanical spring.
d) Manual bass drum pedals are of primitive design, using a spring with player effort applied to move the pedal down to play the bass drum. The mechanical spring inhibits player creativity on the drum pedal. These pedals have a weighty, resistive feel when played. The basic design of the prior art bass drum pedal prevent continuous smooth non-resistive action when played. Thereby, inhibiting the player's effort to perform on the bass drum.
e) Regardless of quality manual bass drum pedals always present a weighty resistive feel of action to the player's effort. The feel of action is always sluggish and tiring to the player, during a performance on the drums.
f) The sensistivity of operation is rigid. Using the best spring and associates moving parts, manual bass drum pedals still present the player with a friction like feel of action. Friction like feel of action inhibits the player's perfomance on the bass drum.
g) High levels of player effort must be applied to manual bass drum pedal designs. Bass drum pedals with low quality are especially difficult to play down and play the bass drum against the resistance of a mechanical spring. Although high quality pedals can have some smooth action, playing the pedal down to play the bass drum requires the same player effort equal to a low quality pedal.